Germany’s trade surplus with the United States has significantly diminished, reaching its lowest level for the first seven months of a year since 2021. Preliminary data from the Statistical Federal Office (Destatis) indicates a surplus of €34.6 billion between January and July 2025, a decline from the previous year.
This represents a drop of €6.2 billion, or a 15.1 percent decrease, compared to the same period in 2024, when the trade surplus stood at €40.8 billion. The record high surplus during the COVID-19 crisis in 2021 reached +€28.4 billion.
The reduction in the trade balance with the U.S. is attributed to a combination of factors: German exports to the United States fell by 5.3 percent to €89.9 billion, while imports from the U.S. rose by 2.2 percent to €55.3 billion. Despite this decrease, the U.S. remains Germany’s most important trade partner in terms of export surplus.
The gap between Germany’s trade surplus with the U.S. and that with France has narrowed considerably. France’s trade surplus only slightly decreased, by 0.2 percent, to €30.4 billion, resulting in a difference of just €4.2 billion compared to the U.S. This is a significant shift from 2024 when the difference was €10.3 billion.
Beyond the U.S., Germany’s overall export surplus also saw a substantial reduction. Significant declines were observed with Mexico (-€1.8 billion, a 32.6 percent drop), Italy (-€1.6 billion, a 19.5 percent drop) and Canada (-€1.5 billion, a 41.0 percent drop). These figures leave Germany with surpluses of €3.6 billion with Mexico, €6.6 billion with Italy and €2.1 billion with Canada.
Conversely, Germany’s import surpluses increased substantially with several other nations, notably the People’s Republic of China. The import surplus with China reached €47.7 billion, an increase of €16.7 billion, representing more than a 54 percent rise. This figure is only surpassed by the €47.9 billion surplus recorded in January-July 2022.
Significant gains were also registered in import surpluses with Vietnam (€8.6 billion, a 28.4 percent increase), Hungary (€2.6 billion, a 141.8 percent increase) and the Czech Republic (€5.3 billion, a 36.7 percent increase).